1. Grocery inflation returns to ‘more normal’ levels
Grocery price inflation fell to 2.4% in the four weeks to 12 May, marking its lowest level since October 2021, a “more normal” rate. This is the fifteenth consecutive month of grocery price inflation falling, it is now just 0.8 percentage points higher than the 10-year average of 1.6% between 2012 and 2021.
As the rate of inflation slows, shoppers ordinarily move away from inflationary behaviors like trading down; however, as the continued success of the discounters shows, these behaviors remain sticky.
“After nearly two and a half years of rapidly rising prices, it could take a bit longer for shoppers to unwind the habits they have learnt to help them manage the cost of living crisis,” says Kantar head of retail and consumer insight, Fraser McKevitt.
“Own-label lines are proving resilient, for example, and they are still growing faster than brands, making up over half (52%) of total spending. Sales of premium own label ranges also continue to increase, up by 9.9% compared with a year ago.”
While the cost of living-related behaviors remains persistent, overall take-home grocery sales rose by 2.9% over the four weeks to 12 May, with Kantar suggesting the early May bank holiday bolstered sales.
Over the summer, sporting fixtures have the potential to further drive sales, particularly in categories like alcohol, McKevitt says.
“During England’s quarter-final match against France in the 2022 FIFA Men’s World Cup, take-home beer sales hit their biggest daily takings of the year outside of Christmas. Especially if it’s paired with warmer temperatures, this year’s summer of sport could deliver a welcome boost for the sector,” he says.
Hospitality suffers as wet weather dampens sales in April
The on-the-go segment was down 4.2%.
Geographically, London performed better, with sales inside the M25 up 0.3% on last year, while outside sales dropped by 2.2%.
Karl Chessell, director, of CGA by NIQ, says: “After 18 consecutive months of year-on-year growth, the hospitality sector had a challenging April. It’s a reminder of the very close correlation between the weather and sales, and a sign that some consumers have been saving their eating and drinking out for special occasions and holidays like Easter.
Maximum of five minutes of ads accepted by most consumers on streaming services
With an increasing number of ad-funded streaming TV subscriptions being rolled out, research reveals the maximum time the majority of people feel prepared to accept is less than five minutes per hour.
A third of consumers (32%) say the maximum time they would feel comfortable seeing ads on streaming services is two minutes per hour, while a fifth (21%) would be happy with three to five minutes per hour.
Less than one in 10 (9%) would accept six to 10 minutes an hour, and just 2% of consumers would be happy with 16 to 20 minutes, with another 2% saying they’d be OK with more than 20 minutes of ads per hour.
Nearly a fifth (18%) are adamant they want no ads when streaming, suggesting they wouldn’t opt for an ad-supported tier at all.
2. Consumer confidence inches upward
Consumer confidence has increased for a second consecutive month, making for a “brighter picture” after a “long period of stasis”, according to the latest GfK Consumer Confidence Barometer.
The overall index score increased two points to –17, driven by a jump in four of the five measures compared to last month. Since May last year, consumer confidence has vastly improved, increasing 10 points from –27.
The May data was collected from consumers before news of the upcoming election and the current rate of inflation, which last week (22 May) fell to 2.3%, marking its lowest level in almost three years.
Confidence in the general economic situation over the last 12 months is up two points to –39, and expectations for the general economic situation over the next 12 months have increased by four points to –17.
TV most popular device for watching video content
In the US, while a similar percentage (74%) watch videos on TV daily, smartphones come in joint first place (also 74%).
PCs and notebooks are third for both European and US viewers, although slightly more use them in the United States (50%) versus Europe (41%).
Tablets are also more popular in the US (46%) compared to Europe (31%).
Linear TV is still watched at least once per week by Americans (68%) and those in Europe (69%).
In the US streaming is more common than in Europe. American viewers are more likely to watch online short-form videos (72 per cent versus 55 per cent) and subscription-based video-on-demand (77 per cent versus 68 per cent of European viewers) at least once a week. Additionally, US consumers are more likely than Europeans to watch ad-funded streaming content—62 per cent as opposed to 25%.
Retail sales volumes were flat in February
Retail sales volumes were flat in February, following an increase of 3.6% in January. In the month sales values decreased by 0. 1 percent as reported by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). More generally compared to the same period last year retail volumes decreased by 1% in the three months ending in February 2024. In February 2020 retail sales were 1. 3 percent lower in February than they were prior to the pandemic. In February sales volumes at food stores decreased by 0. 3 percent but sales of non-food items increased by 0. 7 percent. Clothing stores saw a 1. 7 percent increase in sales during the month which was the primary driver of this rise according to ONS figures. Retailers claimed that this increase was a result of new collections and sales.
3. ‘E-commerce everywhere’ is the most important media trend for consumer goods marketers
Consumer packaged goods marketers rank ‘e-commerce everywhere’ as the most critical consumer technology and media trend, with almost three in five ranking it as among the most important.
Market research (29%) is also a popular use case, as is copywriting (25%).
The research also suggests that a creativity/media gap persists in consumer goods marketing, with 94% of respondents saying their media and creative are not fully synchronised.
The investment community believes brand strategy affects company value
Over three-quarters (76%) of investment analysts and journalists say brand strategy has a moderate to large impact on changes to a company’s price-to-earnings ratio.
Brand was ranked as more impactful than competitive threats (18.6%), macroeconomic factors (17.9%), and senior management reputation (14.7%).
While brand strategy is valued by the investment community, it is not well understood, the research suggests. The vast majority (90%) of investment analysts say they do not have a deep understanding of the positioning and strategy of the companies in their portfolios.
Rate of inflation falls to lowest in two and a half years
The rate of inflation fell to its lowest in two and a half years in February.
Consumer confidence remains lacklustre but some signs of encouragement
The data for March was collected from consumers before news of inflation falling, but Joe Staton, GfK’s client strategy director, says it has captured that “slowly growing sense of optimism” in the read-out for personal finances over the coming 12 months, which stands at 2. This is the first time the score has been positive for two years.
Consumers are also more positive in their views of their situation over the last 12 months, with the score increasing one point to -13.
Confidence in the general economic situation over the next 12 months has also risen slightly, up one point to -23.
People’s views of the general economic situation over the last 12 months has fallen by two points though to -45.
You could have noticed expanded marketing fees in case you are a business proprietor. This isn’t always a bluff. The latest document from Merkle, a pinnacle advertising enterprise, shows the outcomes of inflation on advertising and marketing spend.
The Merkle file shows that advertising fees for all channels (digital, conventional, programmatic) have expanded on common by means of 30%. some channels see even greater increases. advertising costs have risen because of extended demand and excessive production expenses. businesses have had to rethink their marketing strategies because of growing advertising costs. in line with the record, many agencies now prioritize their advertising spend and consciousness on channels that offer a quality return on funding. Print marketing has seen its advert spending drop, even though its miles are still very famous.
As businesses search for fee-effective ways of accomplishing their target audience, virtual advertising is becoming extra famous. mainly, social media advertising has skilled a large increase because it goals more youthful clients who are greater energetic on social media platforms. businesses can also use programmatic marketing to target their audience extra exactly, which allows them to spend less on marketing.
4. Streaming TV Advertising
OTT, CTV, AVOD, SVOD–the sector of streaming advertising can appear to be an entire new language – one filled with acronyms. As people continue to cut the twine, advertisers are following, making the leap from their preceding linear advert campaigns to streaming commercials.
Joining the shift to streaming tv marketing doesn’t want to experience overwhelming – let’s smash down the fundamentals.
What is Streaming tv marketing?
Streaming television marketing is marketing that runs within television content watched thru an internet-linked device instead of ads you may see on traditional linear tv. those streaming tv ads will seem both earlier than or throughout streaming content material discovered on ad-supported networks and apps.
unfastened ad-supported tv is continuing to develop in recognition. two-thirds of visitors said that they would choose to watch advertisements in place of pay for a subscription to watch content material, so long as the ones commercials are relevant and not too burdensome.
Benefits of Streaming television commercials
Streaming television marketing gives numerous wonderful blessings making it an absolute should for entrepreneurs, which include:
Precise targeting: Streaming advertising and marketing makes use of state-of-the-art facts analytics to specifically goal demographics, pastimes, and behaviors, thereby making the commercials more relevant and powerful for every viewer.
Superior dimension and Analytics: This form of advertising offers in-depth insights into how viewers interact with the ads, the general effectiveness of the campaigns, and the breadth of the target audience reached, similar to digital advertising and marketing metrics.
More Flexibility and actual-time Optimization: Streaming advertising allows advertisers to make rapid changes to their campaigns, optimizing them in actual-time primarily based on modern viewer data and remarks.
Better Engagement: typically, streaming structures host especially engaged audiences who’re much more likely to have interaction with and consider advertisements, appreciably improving logo memory and popularity.
Price-Effectiveness: in comparison to conventional tv advertising and marketing, streaming marketing is extra cost-efficient, imparting the potential to attain large audiences without incurring the high prices associated with top-time television slots.
How Does Streaming advertising work?
In a nutshell, advertisers use ad-supported structures to serve targeted ads to visitors. Streaming ads may be interspersed inside a show or movie, akin to traditional linear or cable tv advertising and marketing breaks, however with the brought advantage of specified analytics and viewer facts for measuring ad overall performance.
From an advertiser angle, right here are the 4 easy steps worried for buying your advertisements on streaming offerings:
Become aware of your target market: decide the unique demographics, pastimes, and behaviors of the capacity clients you need to attain on streaming structures.
Expand your ad innovative: Create compelling and platform-suitable ads, whether or not they’re video, audio, or banners, that resonate with your target market.
launch your marketing campaign: buy advertising and marketing area on streaming services, regularly using automated equipment like programmatic advertising and marketing to goal your audience correctly.
Display performance: tune the effectiveness of your commercials the use of metrics like perspectives and engagement, and regulate your method for advanced effects over the years.
Now, allow’s discuss some terms that are regularly used in conjunction with streaming tv marketing: OTT, CTV, AVOD, and SVOD.
5. Advertising techniques are based totally on statistics
This document highlights the significance of information performed in advertising techniques. organizations need to make facts-pushed selections regarding their advertising spend. agencies can use data analysis to higher allocate their marketing finances. This consists of finding out which channels will provide the highest return on funding.
Small agencies: The effect
Growing marketing costs have hit small agencies hard as they regularly have constrained budgets. Small companies find competing with large businesses for advertising areas increasingly difficult. This has brought about a decrease in their marketing price range. this will considerably impact small business growth prospects as marketing is important for attracting new customers and riding sales.
Small businesses turn to other advertising channels, which include email marketing and social media influencers, to triumph over this hassle. these channels are frequently inexpensive than traditional advertising and marketing, allowing small organizations to attain their goal market without spending lot.
Patron costs at the upward push
Customer costs have also been affected by the upward push in advertising and marketing charges. some groups are forced to bypass higher charges on to clients. that is particularly genuine in retail, in which there may be improved opposition from online sellers. that is causing a upward push in consumer charges as outlets locate it more tough to maintain earnings margins.
However, no longer all companies skip on improved prices to clients. companies can also absorb extended prices and reduce income margins to hold costs. this could be mainly effective in tremendously competitive markets where companies should keep fees low to attract customers.
Three ways to successful advertising and marketing in these inflationary instances
nearly 1/2 (forty eight%) of US citizens say that inflation is their largest challenge. consumers are feeling the pinch and don’t anticipate it will change.
We’ve 3 key factors to proportion with manufacturers seeking to the marketplace in these difficult financial times. advertising addressing inflation concerns mainly grabs the attention. Brands ought to offer convincing solutions to inflation that pass beyond the surface stage. Humour approximately inflation is humorous, however, it incorporates dangers for a few customers
To be successful, it isn’t enough to be a valued brand. You want to keep your clients informed
Advertising conveys effective feelings and reassurance.
1. precise worries are what clutch our attention
We surveyed clients’ approximately the position of advertising and types at some point of monetary uncertainty in September. 74% stated they may be interested in manufacturers which could assist them with the inflation disaster. seventy per cent of respondents would love more classified ads offering true prices or charge deals without a seize.
Mint Mobile’s “file Deflation” case has a look at the features Ryan Reynolds, actor and entrepreneur. He delivers a clear message to the audience with a simple message.
2. Inflation solutions from brands need to be persuasive
Mint Mobile has shown that brands no longer need to avoid discussing financial uncertainty. As a substitute, they need to find a manner for clients to clear up their problems.
brands should actively speak their price proposition to purchasers and resolve inflation. It isn’t enough to without a doubt add an affordability declaration in an ad. Purchasers need to experience they are getting the best deal for their cash.
3. Humour may be a way to attach, however, it comes with risks for some customers
Searching at the present-day economic climate, 50% could opt to see extra humour in marketing to make in any other case tough financial system extra bearable. Only 13% would pick much less. 46% want to get away from the truth for a while, at the same time as thirteen pick less. customers are polarised, despite 1/2 of them being open to lighter advertising. Humour is a riskier option when addressing touchy topics like economic misery.
Some consumers may not be able to understand humour. A major online store recently used humour to deal with current financial issues and tell humans how buying with them will store money. even though a few visitors had been angry with the aid of the celebrity’s dry humour and sarcastic tone, moms have been the target audience. They appreciated the advert because it changed into relatable and unique.